I’m out and proud about my longtime affection for Archie Comics, and I really don’t care that it’s the geek equivalent of loving “Facts of Life” reruns. Deal with it!
Anyway, it’s worth noting that those classic characters continue to be a source of inspiration for illustrators everywhere. When I saw Stuart Immonen’s stylish, modern take on Betty and Veronica below, I decided that he should draw every B&V comic book from here on out:
The Immonen piece sent me on a hunt for other alternative/updated tributes to the first ladies of Riverdale, and while some were a little scary, quite a few were fantastic. I loved Luis Escobar’s drawing below, which strongly suggests that Mary Jane Watson is going to give Veronica Lodge the beatdown while Betty and Gwen Stacy look on.
Another standout was Mike Wieringo’s interpretation. There’s a hard edge to it, and a whole lot going on with their facial expressions and body language. A whole lot.
Al Rio, who makes everything look sexy, created a semi-naughty homage to the frenemies that tiptoes right up to the line without going over it. It’s a cheeky drawing for sure, one that reflects a lot of reader fantasies we aren’t going get into here.
These are great!
I really love Mike Wieringo’s “Mean Girls.” Al Rio’s is a ton of fun along with being beautifully drawn.
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Great drawings! Love the Immonen and Wieringo drawings especially. Such a shame about Wieringo’s passing away. He was soooooo talented.
I’ve been reading some Archie comics to my daughter lately. She really enjoys the Betty & Veronica issues the most. Whenever I read one, I can’t help but think what a terrible person Veronica is. She’s totally the “bad girl”. If she were real, I don’t imagine you’d care for her very much. But she’d sure be popular with the boys… :)
The Irredeemable Shag
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Veronica is a beeyotch, but every now and then she throws everyone by doing something nice. You should see how she looked in her ’40s debut. Smokin’!
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I too am a Betty and Veronica fan and proud of it! For most of us Archie comics were our first brush with the genre so why hate on what started a life long love?
I like all of the drawings posted, they are really interesting and well done! :)
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I don’t like the Immonen piece for two major reasons. The first is that I cannot recognize the characters as Betty and Veronica without being told, whereas Luis Escobar draws every character on model with no need for the Archie/Peter tells. The second is related to the first, in that B & V look like they’ve got missing chromosomes all up in their fugly Jersey Shore disproportionate mugs. “Hiram Lodge is my father! My lover! Father! Lover! He’s my father And my lover! *sob*”
I at least like the Wieringo, but again, you could say it was Mia Jones and Holly J. Sinclair instead without my being able to tell the difference. The Al Rio is a reasonable approximation, but nothing I’d get excited about (either way.)
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Oh, Frank. Your irreverence is phenomenal and grammatically correct, as per usual. It is always a pleasure. :-)
Seriously. That’s not sarcasm.
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I’m with V. on this one! I am a fan of intelligent curmudgeons, and you definitely qualify.
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I’m always on time for silence & flames, but never compliments. :)
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